Know your cosmetics

There are hundreds of chemicals in beauty products–some of which are bad for you and bad for the environment.

The Environmental Working Group created a cosmetics database where you can search by product, ingredient or company. They rank products on a scale of 0-10 (where 10 is the most hazardous). My Opi nail polish scores OK-it gets a 4, making it safer than most. My fancy Dior mascara is not so good. The group gives it an 8.

You can find the group’s shopping guide to safe cosmetics in this handy PDF download. Or read more about cosmetic standards here.